All of us were born to talk. God gave us the gift of language so that we could be close, not just right.
But some people talk so well, we call them public speakers. They speak professionally, and the vast majority, my experience teaches me, do it rather poorly; or at least on the level of mediocrity.
The truth is, all of us are speakers. We have to use words, at work, at business, at home, in casual conversation. We use words of persuasion, depression, joy, and pain. The question isn’t, “Are you a speaker?” The real question is, “Are you boring?” The worst sin that any speaker, whether they be a public speaker, a writer, communicator, someone who writes on Twitter, or Facebook, can ever commit is the sin of being boring.
Why are so many speakers boring? Life isn’t boring. People aren’t boring. Situations and circumstances aren’t boring. Life is full of drama. We have thousands and thousands of words from which to choose. We can put them together in any form or fashion we like. We can speak with a hush or in a loud voice. We can persuade or inform. There are a thousand different ways in which we can speak in a way that can change the world.
I’m convinced that one of the reasons there are so many mediocre speakers is that we don’t have an aim when we speak. The problem with so many people is they don’t have a target. And without a target, you’re liable to hit something that you don’t want.
As a professional speaker, writer, and communicator, here is my one advice. Before you stand up to speak have an aim, a goal, for your talk. For me, it’s to change the world. I know that’s bold, but I settle for nothing less. I know that if I speak to the hearts of people, to their pain, and their desire for hope and meaning in life; if I do it long enough and well enough, that ultimately things are going to change.
Maybe your goals are a little less lofty. But they shouldn’t be. Speak for change; to change your company, your family, your child, your husband. Speak to persuade, not just to inform, and you’ll be an interesting speaker.